Flight Path (9/11)

A nice day for breakfast outside. Well-practised,

by now, birds sing out the end of summer.

On the wall, a marmalade sphinx, unblinking

doesn’t miss a twitch in the garden.

In a hurry for Heathrow and bored,

a 747 scratches its dirty fingernails

down the clearblue, blameless sky.

We wince, the birds, the cat and I.

***

Across the pond, excited at the prospect ahead

they are up at first light and praying. The drive

out to Logan will be uneventful. At check-in

a girl will thank them and smile: ‘Have a nice day.’